The Institute of General Semantics has extended the deadline for submissions for its call for papers on the topic of "Language and Symbol Use in Politics and Other Arenas."

The deadline has been extended to October 1, 2012.

Call for Papers

"Language and Symbol Use in Politics and Other Arenas"

A 2-Day Symposium Sponsored by the Institute of General Semantics
October 26-28, 2012

Submission Deadline: September 1, 2012 October 1, 2012

The Institute of General Semantics is sponsoring the 2-day symposium titled "Language and Symbol Use in Politics and Other Arenas," which will be hosted at The Princeton Club in New York City October 26-28, 2012. The symposium will feature the 60th Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture, which will be given by Shawn Lawrence Otto.

Send papers, proposals, and inquiries on this year’s theme, “Language and Symbol Use in Politics and Other Arenas,” by September 1, 2012 October 1, 2012.

Competition for the Hayakawa Book Prize is open to any book published in the past five years on topics and themes of direct relevance to the discipline of general semantics, including time-binding, abstraction, language, symbols, meaning, communication, media, perception, consciousness, epistemology, scientific method, etc.

To nominate a book, send a letter of nomination and two copies of the book by August 31, 2012 to:

The Institute of General Semantics
72-11 Austin Street #233
Forest Hills, NY 11375

For more information, contact Martin H. Levinson, President of the Institute of General Semantics, via email at president (at) generalsemantics.org.

Click here for more information on the Hayakawa Book Prize.

The Institute of General Semantics has recently relocated from Texas to New York.  Effective immediately, here is the new contact information for the Institute of General Semantics.

New Mailing Address

The Institute of General Semantics
72-11 Austin Street #233
Forest Hills, NY 11375

New Phone & Fax

Phone: +1 (212) 729-7973
Fax: +1 (718) 793-2527 (Attn: Institute of General Semantics #233)

Other Updates

Also note the new address for directing Membership payments, submissions for the Hayakawa Book Prize, and other correspondence.

The 59th Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture and 2-Day Symposium titled "Communicating in the 21st Century" will be hosted at the Princeton Club in New York City from Friday, October 28th, until Sunday, October 30th, 2011. 

The 59th Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecturer will be Sherry Turkle, Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of the book Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.

Click here for additional information on the weekend's events, including registration for the dinner and symposium.

Competition for the Hayakawa Book Prize is open to any book published in the past five years on topics and themes of direct relevance to the discipline of general semantics, including time-binding, abstraction, language, symbols, meaning, communication, media, perception, consciousness, epistemology, scientific method, etc.

To nominate a book, send a letter of nomination and four copies of the book by March 1, 2011 September 30, 2011 to:

President
The Institute of General Semantics
72-11 Austin Street #233
Forest Hills, NY 11375

For more information, contact Martin H. Levinson, President of the Institute of General Semantics, via email at president (at) generalsemantics.org.

Click here for more information on the Hayakawa Book Prize.

Call for Papers

"Communicating in the 21st Century"

A 2-Day Symposium Sponsored by the Institute of General Semantics
October 28-30, 2011

Submission Deadline: September 30, 2011

The Institute of General Semantics is sponsoring the 2-day symposium titled "Communicating in the 21st Century," which will be hosted at The Princeton Club in New York City October 28-30, 2011.  The symposium will feature the 59th Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture which will be given by Sherry Turkle.

Send papers, proposals, and inquiries on this year’s theme, “Communicating in the 21st Century,” by September 30, 2011.

The Institute of General Semantics is pleased to announce the 58th Annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture to be delivered by

Deborah Tannen

"Language and New Media:
How Texting, Tweeting, E-mail and Facebook Are Transforming Relationships"

Much has been written about how the use of new media is transforming the language, such as the concern that the use of acronyms like "lol" is compromising written language and creeping into spoken language as well. These concerns will be addressed, but more significant is the way that use of new media transforms relationships, for example by speeding up the length of time expected between communications; in some contexts encouraging the belligerence that results from anonymity; and providing access to more individuals while possibly limiting the cvolume and type of communication with each.

The 58th Annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture will be held on October 29th at Fordham University's Lincoln Center Campus in New York City, in conjunction with the "New Languages, New Relations, New Realities" Symposium to be held on October 29-31.

About Deborah Tannen

Deborah Tannen is University Professor and Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University and author of many books and articles about how the language of everyday conversation affects relationships. She is best known as the author of You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, which was on the New York Times Best Seller list for nearly four years, including eight months as No. 1, and has been translated into 30 languages. Her newest book You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives, which was released in September, became a New York Times best seller and received a Books for a Better Life Award. You Were Always Mom's Favorite! was featured on 20/20 and NPR's Morning Edition. You're Wearing THAT?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation, published in 2006, spent ten weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. Among her other books, Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work was a New York Times Business best seller; The Argument Culture received the Common Ground Book Award; and I Only Say This Because I Love You: Talking to Your Parents, Partner, Sibs, and Kids When You're All Adults received a Books for a Better Life Award. In addition to her writing for general audiences, Tannen is author or editor of 14 books (21, including her general audience books) and over one hundred articles for scholarly audiences. She has also published poems, short stories, and personal essays. Her first play, An Act of Devotion, is included in The Best American Short Plays 1993-1994. It was produced, together with her play Sisters, by Horizons Theatre in Arlington, Virginia.

A frequent guest on television and radio news and information shows, Deborah Tannen has appeared on The Colbert Report, 20/20, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Rachael Ray Talk Show, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Charlie Rose, 48 Hours, CBS News, ABC News Tonight, Oprah, CNN, Larry King, Hardball, Nightline, and many NPR shows including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The Diane Rehm Show, and Fresh Air. She has been featured in and written for most major newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today, People, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review. Deborah Tannen is one of only five in Georgetown University's College of Arts and Sciences who hold the distinguished rank of University Professor. She has been McGraw Distinguished Lecturer at Princeton University and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California, following a term in residence at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. The recipient of five honorary doctorates, she is a member of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation Board of Directors.

Call for Papers

revised 7/13/2010

In addition to the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture, the symposium on October 29-31 will feature a range of presentations on topics related to the title, "New Languages, New Relations, New Realities." The deadline for submissions is July 15, 2010 August 31, 2010.

About the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture

Over the years, the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture has been presented by a wide range of illustrious speakers.

Read more about the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture »

Stay Tuned

As details become available, we will update the website. Watch the IGS homepage for details on registering for the 2010 AKML & Symposium.

In response to the resurgence of scholarly interest in the ideas and writings of Alfred Korzybski, Corey Anton and Lance Strate are pleased to announce a call for papers for a forthcoming edited book to be published by the Institute of General Semantics.

The edited collection, tentatively titled Korzybski and…, will feature some of today’s leading scholars and will explore and address the continued relevance of Korzybski and his practical system of general semantics.

The editors are especially interested in papers that draw out connections, points of convergence and/or divergence between Korzybski and particular thinkers, scholarly traditions, and research methodologies. Example topics or chapters include:

• Korzybski and Marshall McLuhan
• Korzybski and Martin Heidegger
• Korzybski and Kenneth Burke
• Korzybski and Transactional Psychology
• Korzybski and Logic
• Korzybski and Stoicism
• Korzybski and Postmodernity

The editors welcome creative and innovative projects and are happy to consider alternative suggestions and proposals that address the continued relevance of Korzybski and General Semantics.

Prospective authors should submit completed papers, extended abstracts, or interesting papers proposals, as well as a copy of current CV to Corey Anton (antonc[at]gvsu.edu) and Lance Strate (strate[at]fordham.edu) by August 31, 2010.

Competition for the Hayakawa Book Prize is open to any book published in 2005 or later on topics and themes of direct relevance to the discipline of general semantics, including:

• time-binding
• abstraction
• language
• symbols
• meaning
• communication
• media
• perception
• consciousness
• epistemology
• scientific method
• etc.

To enter, send a letter of nomination and four copies of the book to Executive Director, Institute of General Semantics, 3000 A Landers Street, Fort Worth, TX 76107 by March 31, 2010. (Please note that this is a new mailing address for IGS.)

For more information, contact Lance Strate, Executive Director of the Institute of General Semantics, via e-mail at executivedirector [at] generalsemantics.org, or by telephone at (718) 817-4864.

The winner will receive a cash award of $1,000.